'Ousted' presenter claims BBC director told her: 'You’ll have to be careful about those wrinkles when HDTV comes in'

Thursday 4 November 2010 14:48 BST

Replaced: Miriam O’Reilly is suing the BBC for ageism and sex discrimination

BBC presenter Miriam O'Reilly was told by a colleague to be careful of her wrinkles when high definition TV came in, a tribunal heard today.

The 53-year-old former presenter of Countryfile was also goaded that she needed hair dye and Botox, it is claimed. She believes she was forced out of the show because she is an older woman, and is suing the corporation for age and sex discrimination.

O'Reilly worked on Countryfile for seven years when it had a daytime slot, but was dropped when it was given a primetime evening slot last year. She claims a younger woman with her skills and experience would have been kept in the job.

She said that during the same period, three other regular women presenters aged over 40 - Charlotte Smith, Juliet Morris and Michaela Strachan - were also taken off the show, and the line-up would be "refreshed".

O'Reilly added: "It seemed to me that it was just the women who had to be refreshed', not the men."

In a witness statement to London Central tribunal, she said: "Just after my 50th birthday I was working with a cameraman who said I must be a rare species' in TV.

"I was conscious of my age, as the production team were on the whole a lot younger.

"In about February 2009 I was working with the Countryfile director, Dean Jones. We were travelling in a car to our filming location and I was applying some make-up when he said something which literally sent a shiver down my spine.

"He said, You're going to have to be careful about those wrinkles when High Definition comes in'. He said that would be crunch time' for my BBC career."

O'Reilly said she knew this had "the ring of truth" because of the "ageist attitude" at the BBC. Citing two further incidents, she continued: "When I was on location in or about June 2008 the cameraman, Jim Fynes, who was aware that this was being made into an issue, produced a can of black spray dye, and asked if I wanted to use it.

"He was trying to be helpful but I declined. I don't think a man would have been treated in this way.

"I do not believe a man would be asked about wrinkles nor offered hair dye. It was clear to me that this reflected the BBC's view that women on TV needed to look young."

"I also remember that in about March 2008, when I expressed my concern about visible signs of ageing affecting my career to director Louise Pyne, she said, It's time for botox.'*

"Even though I really wanted to keep my job, I didn't want to have Botox."

O'Reilly, who lives in Gwynedd in Wales, is an award-winning journalist who worked for the BBC for 25 years . She started doing news pieces for Countryfile in 2001 before becoming a regular presenter by 2005.

In November 2008, Miriam said Andrew Thorman, executive editor of factual planning and responsible for rural programmes, called her in to tell her that the show was being moved to a prime evening slot in April 2009, but she would no longer be presenting.

She said she was told that the network wanted to "refresh" the line up and Morris, Smith and Strachan were also dropped.

They were replaced by former Watchdog host Julia Bradbury, then 38, and Matt Baker, 32.

John Craven and Adam Henson were kept on, while Ben Fogle was transferred to the programme's Sunday morning replacement Country Tracks - a position Miriam claims she was not even considered for. Countryfile is now shot in high definition.

The BBC denies discrimination. The tribunal continues.

* Louise Pyne told the Evening Standard on 5 November 2010 that the discusssion she had with Ms O'Reilly was a conversation between friends, and she did not tell Ms O'Reilly that she should have Botox.